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"Potential Weapon-Related Issue" in RE-1 District Involved Airsoft Gun, Photo On Snapchat

KSJD | By Austin Cope
Published February 21, 2018 at 2:39 PM MST
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Examples of Airsoft guns, which shoot non-harmful plastic pellets, shown on display in Massachusetts. The individual contacted by Montezuma County deputies on Sunday had posed with an airsoft gun in photos posted on social media.

What had been called a “potential weapon-related issue” by Cortez school officials over the weekend has been identified as a juvenile posing in photos with a non-harmful Airsoft gun. Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin tells KSJD the photos were sent on the social media platform Snapchat. They did not contain threats to the school or any individuals. Because the gun appeared to be an assault rifle, it was reported to deputies. After being questioned, the person was later arrested on an unrelated warrant. Nowlin encouraged people to come forward with information about potential threats, regardless of the severity.
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Austin Cope
Austin Cope is a former Morning Edition host for KSJD and now produces work on a freelance basis for the station. He grew up in Cortez and hosted a show on KSJD when he was 10 years old. After graduating from Montezuma-Cortez High School in 2010, he lived in Belgium, Ohio, Spain, northern Wyoming, and Himachal Pradesh, India before returning to the Cortez area. He has a degree in Politics from Oberlin College in Ohio.
See stories by Austin Cope
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